During the snowy and cold weather here in Massachusetts, and in between holiday events, my husband and I watched the charming movie Julie and Julia. It made me feel nostalgic for those days in my 20s when life was simpler. It also gave me pause about writing a blog and the "putting yourself out there", about which I have some reservations. I am happier to write more in detail here, for example, than I am on Facebook. I think it is that this allows for a more thoughtful, more nuanced information - more than just "I am bored watching the snow fall" as a status update.
The most recent news about Frog Pond Gardens is that we have been accepted as Certified Naturally Grown, http://www.naturallygrown.org which is a grassroots alternative to the USDA National Organic Program -- i.e. the "official" organic certification. The USDA certification only applies to growers making more than $5,000 a year in sales - not my league. However, the general sense of many ecologically minded gardeners is that the term "organic" has lost some of its meaning. Additionally, small growers cannot keep up with the fees and book keeping needed to maintain that level of certification. Some of the independent seed sellers (like Fedco in Maine, http://www.fedcoseeds.com) are marking their seeds as "ECO" for ecologically grown (no chemical fertilizers, pesticides or GMO) which they label seeds sourced from their small growers.
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